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Thursday, August 25, 2016

At the recent 2016 International Quilt Invitation Exhibition in
Brigham City, Utah, we fell in love with the tiny house quilts created by Stephanie Crawford (UK) and the small landscape quilts by Mary Ann Hildebrand (Texas). We hope you enjoy these incredible miniature works of art as much as we did!

The window mullions and the wrought iron fence were created with machine stitching:

You can get an idea of the size of these tiny quilts in the photo below. They were displayed on the end of a post. Stephanie Crawford's Black-and-White Building is shown below her Sea Front at Brexill-on-Sea, which we featured in a previous post:

The Vaults at Fountains Abbey by Stephanie Crawford

We felt as if we were drawn into these vaults, thanks to the perspective, depth and texture which Stephanie Crawford created through her thread painting:

Life on the Mesa by Mary Ann Hildebrand (Texas)

Check out the way in which Mary Ann Hildebrand used batiks to represent the texture of the buildings and rocks:

Life on the Mesa previously won 1st place in the art-miniature category at the 2013 Houston International Quilt Festival. It is shown in situ, below, at the Brigham City Museum:

Japanese Tea Garden by Mary Ann Hildebrand

In the photo below, Japanese Tea Garden is shown on display; to the right is Spring Crocuses by Jan P. Krentz:

Image credits: Photos were taken by Quilt Inspiration at the Brigham City Museum (August, 2016). We really appreciated the excellent lighting as well as the quality of the work within this show.

Although it was an original pattern, artist Meilo So graciously gave Laurie permission to use her watercolor artwork to create Dragon Dance for the 2014 Hoffman Challenge. One of Laurie's challenges was to create an interesting background without overwhelming the dragon. A subtle movement in the quilt was created by using the tessellating pinwheel pattern with McKenna Ryan's Sand in My Shoes fabric, along with other monochromatic fabrics.

Close-up, Dragon Dance

We love the images of these joyous, dancing children who celebrate as they carry the dragon along! Laurie explains that the dragon was first appliqued to separate piece of fabric and then to the background.

Tidal Images by Gloria Loughman, Australia

Gloria lives by the sea on the Bellarine Peninsula in Victoria, Australia. She has had he opportunity to travel to many parts of the continent known in some areas for its iconic sun, surf, and sand. The daily ebb and flow of the waters of the ocean viewed during her Australian adventures are captured in this lovely quilt.

Close-up, Tidal Images

We think that Gloria blends these pure, clear colors so expertly that her work resembles an impressionist watercolor painting ! The curved, winding branches of the tree form a fascinating juxtaposition with its triangular leaves and the geometric forms of the mountains.

The "common threads" running through Havlan's work are a love of the human form, an appreciation of different cultures- ancient and contemporary- and their celebration of color. She is drawn to indigenous people and the decorations adorning their bodies.

Close-up, That Secret

Denise notes that the influence of 19th century French painter Paul Gauguin and his bold colors in depicting Polynesian people can be seen in her work here. Prior to Polynesians wearing colorful sarongs, feathers, flowers, and plants were used to create color that was both beautiful and spiritually significant. With the introduction of trade cloth, the islands used bright fabrics on a daily basis. We really admire the very lifelike, realistic depiction of these two women, especially the feathered fan, hair, floral adornments, and facial expressions.

Three major religions are represented in this quilt. The floor where the postcards are scattered is similar to the design of the floor in front of the cross at Calvary in the Christian Church of the Holy Sepulchre. The border design wraps around the mosque of the Dome of the Rock, just inside its outer walls. It encloses the Jewish Holy of Holies , the Muslim site of Mohammed's ascent to heaven, and the account from the Old Testament of Abraham and Issac. In one quilt, Jenny has succeeded in displaying a great deal of history and culture.

Close-up, Postcards From Jerusalem

In her quilt, Jenny says that she wants to convey a sense of the golden magic of Jerusalem as well as the peace that still seeps from its stones, despite the turmoil and fighting that have plagued it for the last two thousand years. We are impressed that Jenny has done a wonderful job of depicting Jerusalem, one of the most fascinating cities of the world.

When Stephanie designed this tiny quilt, her focus was on sunlight and perspective, which is why she adapted to fabric a photograph by her friend Jayne Burton. Bexhill is a seaside town situation in the county of east Sussex in southeast England. We love the breezy, summery effect that Stephanie has created with the shimmering water, the blue sky, and the sunlit clouds.

Ivey Hayes, a famous regional artist, contacted Marcia Eygabroat and ask if she would select, then re-create exactly some of his paintings in fabric. The quilter was drawn to the painting Wind, Moon, and Sun because of its vibrant colors.

Close-up, Wind, Moon, and Sun

Marcia explains that the challenge was to find fabric to match every color of the original painting. This entire quilt is pieced. We love the dynamic spirit and energy expressed by this work.

The months of March to May are the height of Australia's autumn season. Unfortunately, you won't see masses of colorful foliage in most Australian cities, except perhaps in Canberra, where large numbers of trees lose their leaves and exhibit dramatic seasonal changes.

Close-up, Autumn Reflections

Speaking about Canberra, Australia, Gloria says that the town boasts spectacular promenades of trees that change the skyline to all shades of red, orange, and gold before falling to the footpaths. We think that Gloria has done a very creative job in designing these tree branches so that they very much give the beautiful effect of looking at a stained glass window.

Because she was born in China, Molly had no exposure to quilts until 1999 when she attended a small guild show in Tehachapi, California, and immediately fell in love with quilts. She was amazed by the variety of patterns and designs. She especially liked the appliqued quilts. She began designing her own quilts, drawing on her Chinese heritage. Molly discovered that the black edging, which she now uses, helps separate the fabric colors and allow each to stand out individually, without clashing with the others. She says tha a piece of her heart goes into every quilt she makes. We admire the very graceful, lyrical qualities of this lovely pattern.

This quilt is the culmination of two years' experimentation with the fused, spiral-rose motif. The garden is set on a background of 20- inch squares, graduating from bright white to darkest black at the lower edge.

Close-up, Spiral Rose Garden

Each rose is machine- embroidered in a zig zag pattern, covering the spiral with matching metallic thread. The leaves and stems are covered with green holographic thread which adds a subtle sparkle to the plant life growing in this garden. Anne's experimentation with the spiral rose motif has resulted in a very successful, refreshing, contemporary touch to roses which are usually formal, traditional flowers.Aurora Diamond Landscape byJan P. Krentz, California

This quilt was inspired by the Aurora Borealis, or the North and South polar lights that are seen in the sky at the higher latitudes of the earth. Jan has cleverly placed the silhouette of a mountain range at the bottom of the quilt, so that the viewer can gain a perspective of the enormity of this stunning light show in the evening sky.

Close-up, Aurora Diamond Landscape

This composition features tone-on-tone batik and hand-dyed fabrics arranged in a painterly impressionist design. The vertical rows of diamonds and partial diamonds are cut to simulate movement.

Phyllis created "Le Chat Noir" in response to a quilt challenge in which the theme was Paris, France. When she thought of Paris, she thought of Art Nouveau painter Theophile Alexandre Steinlen and his "Le Chat Noir" ( the black cat) poster on her kitchen wall, which advertised a famous cabaret in Paris of the 1890's. Phyllis displays her beautiful hand quilting and embroidery on this sophisticated mini-quilt.

A Purrfect Day, 32 x 36", by Cindy Greco

Cindy explains, "This is a kit of 5 patterns called "Purrfectly Pieced". The kit included all the flannel fabric and buttons. I added the embroidery with my own floss and change he name of the finished quilt. I made this for my sister ( a cat lover) for Christmas 2015. It was fun to make and hardly took any time at all compared to my other two entries !"
Cats seem to love quilts and balls of yarn; and these playful kitties are no exception. The Purrfectly Pieced quilt pattern is by Bonnie Sullivan at All Through the Night.

Flowers, 42 x 58", by Leslie Finta

Leslie states, "This giraffe pattern is from Laura Heine of Fiberworks, Inc. I used Kaffe Fassett fabrics. It was a Christmas gift for my granddaughter, Ava."

In this close-up, you can see that even the eye of the giraffe is a flower. We admire Leslie's very creative use of this fabric.

Garden Critters, 57 x 57", by Jo Mathies

Jo writes, "Garden Critters" is an original design resulting from
Marilyn Doheney's class in 2008 at Thimble Creek Quilt Shop in Concord,
California. Lots of strip sets were made, cut, and sewed together to
make flowers, animals, insects, etc."

Here's a close-up of the very cheerful bumblebee and ladybugs that add whimsy to these vibrant flowers.

Garden Party, 62 x 32", by Cindy Greco

Cindy says, "Maggie Walker designed this quilt, and I chose to hand applique and hand quilt it. I originally saw this quilt at the "Quilting in the Garden" show at Alden Lane Nursery (Livermore, California) about 5 years ago. I found the pattern online, started collecting batik fabrics for the chickens, and began work on my quilt a year ago. I used the starch method with freezer paper templates and had to make a vinyl overlay for each block to tell where to put the pieces. I enjoyed making the background quilting look kind of like chicken wire, but the quilting of the chickens was very difficult because of the applique layers. The chicken eyes were a challenge, but i am pleased with the result. " We think Cindy did a lovely job with this creation, which involves a great deal of applique pieces.